COUPLES BACKS OUT
Fan favourite Fred Couples withdrew from the Canadian Open yesterday.
The career of the 49-year-old Couples has been hampered by his chronic back problems and he tweaked it again during the Mike Weir Charity Classic at Glen Abby on Monday.
In 10 appearances at the Canadian Open, Couples's best finish was a second-place showing to winner David Frost 16 years ago.
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BARR ESCAPES B.C. FOREST FIRES
Dependable Dave Barr will be at the RBC Canadian Open this morning but not as a participant.
The 57-year-old former PGA Tour player arrived at Glen Abbey after a turbulent three days in which he and his family were evacuated from their home in West Kelowna, B.C., because of the raging Glenrosa forest fires. They stayed nearby at the home of Barr's brother.
Some of the evacuated homes were looted, but the Barrs returned home on Tuesday morning to find their house and belongings in tact. "The fire got to within a 1,000 yards from our home," he said. "You could see it from our window."
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HE SAID IT
"I really feel like this is one of the big up-and-coming events."
Anthony Kim, the 24-year-old U.S. star making his second appearance at the RBC Canadian Open, which is trying to regain its lustre. Kim has become intricately connected to the event, its title sponsor and Canada. He sports a Royal Bank of Canada logo on his bag and has a Canadian agent, Chris Armstrong
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BY THE NUMBERS
39: Number of players over 40 in the RBC Canadian Open this week, including Stephen Ames, John Daly and Corey Pavin.
50: Number of entrants under 30, including Anthony Kim, Sean O'Hair and Canada's amateur hotshots, Nick Taylor and Matt Hill.
40: Current and former Canadian Tour members among the 156-player field this week, including Mike Weir, Kevin Stadler, Chris DiMarco and defending tournament champion Chez Reavie.
18: Consecutive Canadian Open starts for Mike Weir when he tees it up today. The tournament record is 25 in a row by Richard Zokol (1978-2006), one more than George Knudson (1958-1981).
2: Canadians among the 39 players in tournament history who have recorded all four rounds in the 60s. Stan Leonard (66-67-69-68) was the first in 1958 at Mayfair in Edmonton to finish tied for fourth place, and Dave Barr (69-69-69-68) managed his way around Glen Abbey 31 years later at 13-under to finish tied for eighth.
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PLACE YOUR BETS
Retief Goosen is the favourite to win the RBC Canadian Open, according to the William Hill betting agency in England. Here's a look at the odds of the top-10 favourites, as of last night:
1. R. Goosen, South Africa 14 to 1
T2. Anthony Kim, U.S. 16 to 1
T2. Mike Weir, Canada 16 to 1
4. C. Villegas, Colombia 18 to 1
T5. Luke Donald, England 20 to 1
T5. Sean O'Hair, U.S. 20 to 1
6. Aaron Baddeley, Australia 25 to 1
T7. Stephen Ames, Canada 33 to 1
T7. Jerry Kelly, U.S. 30 to 1
T7. Steve Marino, U.S. 33 to 1
T7. Scott Verplank, U.S. 33 to 1